This thanksgiving….
Get ready for some high speed action…
Fasten your seat belts for an exhilarating experience…
An Experience that leaves you asking for more…..
This thanksgiving….
The weekend will not be same again…
From the writer of “The Point Reyes trip” and “Sangam-Mekedatu Bike Trip”, …Here comes an account of yet another outstandingly refreshing trip….A trip to the abode of the American Stars…The largest city of the California State…The entertainment capital of USA…Los Angeles..starring Raj, Ravi, Arvind and the Debutant Ram Prasad.
It was the afternoon before the Thanksgiving Day and we were slowly giving into the thought of working on the Holidays, when everybody else was probably planning their vacations in some exotic location.
“Where are you going to, this long weekend?”
This was not something we have anticipated from our manager.
“LA.” We echoed in Unison, although none of us had any idea of how to get there, especially on the biggest holiday season in the US, that too with such a short notice.
The excitement was evident in each one of us and we have booked the flight tickets and the hotel on the Thursday morning. The flight was at 5:10 in the evening and soon we were all set to embark onto the journey that would imprint an indelible impression of the great city and the memories associated with it.
We got down at the domestic terminal of the LAX airport and the hotel hospitality service picked up from the airport. The super 8 Motel was about 2 miles from the airport. It was a small one, but we did not have the luxury of whining about the bad quality of the hotel room, because we were probably lucky to get even that room.
As bad luck would have it, we did not get any good restaurent, let alone any good INDIAN restaurent, because all of them were closed due to Thanks giving day. But we did manage to find some restaurent, where we ate something that I wouldn't even bother to describe. We came back to the Motel by 10PM and it was when Ram Prasad and I decided to do something that I would probably mention in another blog.
We barely managed to catch the Day Tour Bus that came to pick us at 9 'O Clock on the Friday morning, wherein the American Hospitality got a taste of Indian Punctuality..:P. We were transferred to another bus which took us to the first of our destinations, the Universal Studios.
The Universal studio is a state-of-the-art factory of film making , which was conveniently modified as a Theme park and an entertainment center. It is aptly titled the entertainment capital of Los Angeles, the shows, rides and other attractions would leave the visitors wonder in awe. The film nagar of the gore log, tells you a story of its own. The story of the film makers, film making , the stars and all the people behind the celluloid. A story which is no less interesting that any of the Hollywood flicks themselves.
If the 3-D experience of the futuristic panorama of Terminator makes you yell "Asta la vista baby", the Shrek experience would make you feel as if you were a part of the movie. If the Jurassic ride takes you through a voyage into the Jurassic era, that you can ever forget for sure, the revenge of the Mummy would make your adrenaline rush as fast as the ride itself.
The 45 minute studio trip takes the visitors in a motorized tram through the various different studios, each specializing in a different category. The trip shows the glimpses of film making techniques like, flash floods in some Mediterranean suburb, cars somersaulting on the freeways, Giant Gorilla attacking a hanging bridge, an earthquake in an American Subway, Deadly Shark attacks in the middle of a lake, the debris of an Boeing flight and many others.
By the time you realize it, you will find the meaning of the phrase "Time flies". It indeed does at Universal Studios.
Another bus picked us outside the Studio at 8PM, to take us to an excursion of the other attractions of the City. On our way to the Rodeo Drive, the Driver/Guide took us through the world famous Beverly Hills, and the Sunset Blvd amongst other important places. Alongside the roads were houses of the famous stars and/or the shops owned by them.
The bus stopped in the Rodeo Drive, where we have got down to have a stroll along the "Walk of fame" , where the Names of the famous Hollywood Legends were engraved on the footpath within a star. The whole avenue is a neon lit zone that aptly symbolizes the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. As you walk along the "Walk of fame" , you can see the Kodak Theatre which hosts the Oscars, the Guiness Center, Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum and the Wax museum.
We were dropped back at the hotel at 11PM after being taken through the Roads of the LA downtown. After the long day, we slipped into a deep sleep before even we knew it.
Day-2
The day started at 9 O Clock , a rather late time on any given day, let alone the day when we have to take the evening flight.After no more deliberation, we have started to the Disneyland, which is located at about 40 Miles from the place where we took the hotel. As it turned out to be, you will regret going to such a nice place under extremely tight deadlines. It is one of those places where you can spend any length of the time, without getting bored, and still come out with a feeling that you would have spend some more time .
Disneyland is comprised of two different parks, On one side is the park with all the classic rides and on the other side, is the new and the high speed rides section. We chose the classical one for no particular reason. Disneyland is every kid's dream and if you are not a kid, then there is every chance that you will either relive your chilldhood, or would think of getting your kids when you have them atleast.
Tha fantastic atmosphere, with Disney characters greeting you from everyplace would make you forget that they are afterall lifeless objects. The Water based ride through the antique setting in the background of the Pirates of the Carribbean will give an experience I bet you would not have had before. The 50 foot free fall in the Splash Mountain would reintroduce the familiar weightless feeling that is associated with the Swings and Giant Wheels.
The toy train that plies through the Disneyland took us next to the Tomorrow Land, which was a futuristic representation of the imagination of the Creative genius Walt Disney himself.It comprises of the shows, themes and rides that take you to the next level of entertainment. The Bobsleds is a High-speed turbulent roller coaster type ride through Matter Horn Mountain that includes sharp turns and sudden drops and stops. You can help Finding Nemo by the means of an underwater ride in a Submarine, that takes you to a virtually realistic world that exists deep down, and the creatures that survive there. The ASIMO robot built by Honda Corporation shows a glimpse of what the future has in store for us.
After all the merriment , it was time to call it a Day Disneyland and pack our bags, back to San Jose.
And Yes, This Thanksgiving, the was weekend was indeed a special one.
THE END.
